No Mercy
by Peepette
Summary: "He would have done the same thing to her, if he had thought of it first, she kept reminding herself. To win, she could show no mercy, not even to the person that meant the most." A look through the eyes of the Careers when all others are gone.


**My first Hunger Games One-shot. Actually, my first Hunger Games story period. Reviews are welcomed, as is criticism, as long as it is put nicely. Oh, and just a warning: I tend to cuss... _a lot._ If that's not your cup of tea, please turn away.**

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**Lace Weathers : District One**

Lace watched as Calibus stabbed the small girl from Five. The sneaky little bitch had somehow evaded them for the majority of her time in the arena, but her luck had just run out. The girl's mutated body slumped forward, and a loud cannon rang in the distance, signaling her death. All Lace could do was grin. One less tribute until her victory.

But now came the tough part; perhaps the toughest moment in the games. Now, instead of eliminating the weaker and helpless tributes, she had to take down her four allies; the other Careers. The girl from Four had been killed by a Fire Fox mutation earlier in the games, removing one less threat. But there was still her district partner, the pair from two, and Calibus to worry about now.

Each of the Careers' eyes suddenly became deathly cold, as they studied their opponents. Lace decided her best bet was to go after the jackass from Four. He had flirted with her during training, but she had rejected his advances, knowing she could do better. Perhaps a pretty smile would cause enough distraction for her to jab a knife into his chest.

Like a silent shot had fired, everyone began to respectively fight off their now competition. The pair from Two were double-teaming Calibus, but Lace couldn't worry about him. Hopefully, they would take him out and then proceed to attack each other. If everything went how she wanted, they would all give each other fatal blows that rendered them useless, so all she had to do was give quick knives to the heart before she went home. Well, a girl could hope.

Neal's eyes never left Lace, as she carefully took her steps to him. He was smart, she knew that much, but earlier actions had shown he was not immune to pretty girls. And Lace knew for a fact that she was a very, _very_ pretty girl.

"Hello handsome. Care to make this easy?" She said with her best smile, as she came within five feet of the boy. He wasn't as tall as her district partner or the boy from two, but he was a bit bulkier. It was a shame really; he was actually a nice looking boy, Lace mused. Too bad he had to die.

Neal's grin nearly took over his face. "Not a chance, princess." He said in an almost joking tone. But that was his mistake. His one mistake, that Lace would capitalize on. He took her as a joke, which had caused him to loosen up, and momentarily drop his guard. Even though it could have only been down for a second, Lace made her move. A second was all she needed.

Before he could even blink, she had lunged at him full force, knife ready in hand. The two went tumbling to the ground. Though he moved fairly quick, Lace was quicker. Before he was completely out of her striking zone, she brought down her knife and sunk it into the right side of his chest. Neal let out a sharp hiss of pain, causing Lace to grin.

_Stupid boy._

With one swift movement, she yanked it backwards, and took gleeful note in the blood smeared across the blade. Glancing back at Neal, she found his chest was bleeding profusely. She must have hit an artery. Even better.

In the next moment Neal had his spear in hand, and had sent it off in her direction. But Lace was too quick, and avoided it easily. While he reached for another one, Lace sent her knife soaring at Neal. He had the good sense to try and dodge, but it still connected with his knee.

Neal went down hard, crying out loudly in pain. Lace quickly raced over to his side. He was trying to stand; she wouldn't let him. She quickly made a grab for her knife. But instead of pulling it out, she dug it in further and twisted it until the sound of a loud snap echoed around the arena. Neal's cry was his loudest yet, nearly causing her ears to become sore.

She couldn't worry about her ears at the moment though. When she retracted her knife from his leg, the sight of a broken kneecap came into view. Though not completely poked through, it had been shoved up against the skin in an awkward angle, and looked as if it could pop through any moment. And the gigantic hole in his knee was now bleeding much harder than before, and soft flesh was visible from the outside. Lace grinned. _Yes._

Over Lace's shoulder, she could see the boy from Two stab Calibus through his chest; soon he would be dead. She needed to hurry up. Quickly, she brought her knife up to Neal's neck. "Please." It was a barely audible plea, that might as well have been mute. It fell upon deaf ears anyway.

"_Sorry._" She sneered as she slid it across his throat, and all his inner contents began to spill out. Neal Penniford was dead and gone. She kicked his body backwards in disgust, then quickly turned to search for her other opponents.

_Boom! Boom!_

Neal and Calibus. District Two was still out there. Her wild eyes quickly scanned the Cornucopia for her final opponents. The boy from Two was still standing, and ready for a fight, but his district partner laid still on the ground. From the look of it, she was hardly breathing. An easy kill, after he was finished off. Lace could see her victory within grasp. With a grin, she stepped forward to Spyros.

**Jana McMasters : District Two**

Their plan had been a simple one, but effective one: stick together. Since day one, Spyros Colure and Jana McMasters had been allies. Even when they hadn't met the other Careers. They had a pact, that went long before Reaping Day.

Spyros had been her childhood friend. The two grew up together as neighbors in the Victor's Village. He was the only boy willing to play with her, because everyone else thought she had cooties. He had been her sparring partner in Training, and taught her how to crack a whip. He was even her first boyfriend. It was only right that he would be Jana's District Partner for the most important event in her life.

They knew the other Careers would be complete idiots. They could take them with their eyes closed. But they could also be useful -if for no other reason- as bodyguards; people to watch the supplies while she and Ross went out hunting, or watch for tributes while they slept. Really though, that was about all they were good for. They were too proud and arrogant to accept the fact that there were other competitors -_dangerous_ competitors- that would stand in their way of victory.

The boy from One was no match for either Ross or Jana, but combined they were a force unstoppable. Within no time, he was lying dead on the cold, wet grass. Of course, Jana needed to be dead too. Or _nearly_ dead; another part of their strategy. Leather -or whatever the fuck her name was- would automatically assume she had been horrifically injured, and not give Jana a second glance while she went after Ross. And the silly girl did just that.

It really wasn't hard to look believably dying. She had already been covered with the boy from One's blood. All she had to do was lay down and remain still. Ones were stupid like that though. They'd believe you if you told them the moon was made out of cookie dough. And this bubble-blonde was no exception to that.

While Lace was busy being stalled by Ross, Jana quickly rose to her feet. Gripping tightly the whip in her hand, she snuck up behind the ongoing fight. Ross quickly caught her eye and gave a brief smirk, but removed it well before Lace could comprehend what was going on. With a simple flick of the wrist, Lace fell forward with a cry of pain.

Ross laughed at the girl as Jana let her whip soar again; she wanted to see bones. And she'd be damned if she didn't see them. Back in District Two, she had always bragged about how her whips could cut through to bone. Now it was time to back up her talk.

She struck her over and over again, not satisfied until she caught sight of a glimmer of white. Finally she found her prize. A few ribs, with large cracks running along them, were in full view of Jana, causing her to grin. Blood and wet flesh clung to her whip, as the missing chunks were painfully obvious in her back. What was still attacked was bleeding like no tomorrow, and Lace's raw flesh glissened in the sunlight, making it possible to see all the little curves and veins throughout her wounds. The sight was completely horrific, yet some how glorious.

Ross was grinning down at the One girl as well. He gave Jana his signature smirk that used to send chills up her spine. "May I?" He asked, vaguely gesturing to the battered body of the girl below them. Jana smiled and said with a shrug "Go for it." She would get just as much pleasure watching Ross end the pathetic girl as she would if she had done it herself. Well, maybe not _as much_, but damn near close.

He brought down his big sword -the one he had used the entire games- down over her neck, effectively beheading the bitching blonde from One, while also removing over half her hair. That fact made Jana grin. Lace had been so proud of her hair; she needed it to be ripped out of her head. But cutting it worked too.

_Boom!_

Only two left. Now for the hard part.

Jana grinned at Ross, and he returned it. "We did it. We made it to the end Jan." He said, quickly walking towards her. She smiled warmly and moved to him as well. As soon as she was close enough, Ross wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "We did it." he kept murmuring into her hair, over and over again.

"Yep. We did it." Jana said in her sweet voice, all the while pulling a knife out of her rear pocket. Ross had seemed to have forgotten the inevitable; one of them had to die. Only one tribute could win. But that had been what Jana was counting on. Truthfully, she knew she wouldn't be able to take Ross one on one in a fight. It had been a concern for her since the moment he volunteered. But she knew him well, and knew just how naive and trusting her friend could be. He would never dream Jana was going to knife him in the back.

Like she had just done.

He jerked away with a sharp gasp, but it was too late. A moment later, he fell back onto the dewy grass, struggling for his last breath of air. "Why?" It was low and soft; so low that Jana thought she might have imagined it. But before she could answer his question, the final cannon fired, along with a million and one horns, streamers, and everything else you could possibly think of.

Jana felt a pang of guilt in her heart, for betraying her oldest friend's trust. But truthfully, did he really think they could both just walk out alive? That everything would be okay and they would both go home? Only fools would think such things. But Ross _wasn't_ a fool. Jana knew that. He had to know deep down what had to be done. She was just the one that did it first. He would have done the same thing to her, if he had thought of it first, she kept reminding herself. To win, she could show no mercy, not even to the person that meant the most.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, for once truly meaning her words, but no one would have heard it over the loud speakers playing above her. Jana McMasters, victor of the 46th Hunger Games. _Yes._ She had won; she did it. Jana was the victor now. So why did she feel as though she had finished in last place?

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**Once again, this is my first Hunger Games fic. I'm not sure how I did, but I think it's okay. I'm really not that used to writing for people other than myself and friends, so feedback would be lovely :)**


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